M2-SCREAM: A Stratospheric Composition Reanalysis of Aura MLS data with
MERRA-2 transport
Abstract
MERRA-2 Stratospheric Composition Reanalysis of Aura Microwave Limb
Sounder (M2-SCREAM) is a new reanalysis of stratospheric ozone, water
vapor, hydrogen chloride (HCl), nitric acid (HNO3) and
nitrous oxide (N2O) between 2004 and the present (with a
latency of several months). The assimilated fields are provided at a
50-km horizontal resolution and at a three-hourly frequency. M2-SCREAM
assimilates version 4.2 Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) profiles of the
five constituents alongside total ozone column from the Ozone Monitoring
Instrument. Dynamics and tropospheric water vapor are constrained by the
MERRA-2 reanalysis. The assimilated species are in excellent agreement
with the MLS observations, except for HNO3 in polar
night, where data are not assimilated. Comparisons against independent
observations show that the reanalysis realistically captures the spatial
and temporal variability of all the assimilated constituents. In
particular, the standard deviations of the differences between M2-SCREAM
and constituent mixing ratio data from The Atmospheric Chemistry
Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer are much smaller than the
standard deviations of the measured constituents. Evaluation of the
reanalysis against aircraft data and balloon-borne frost point
hygrometers indicates a faithful representation of small-scale
structures in the assimilated water vapor, HNO3 and
ozone fields near the tropopause. Comparisons with independent
observations and a process-based analysis of the consistency of the
assimilated constituent fields with the MERRA-2 dynamics and with
large-scale stratospheric processes demonstrate the utility of M2-SCREAM
for scientific studies of chemical and transport variability on time
scales ranging from hours to decades. Analysis uncertainties and
guidelines for data usage are provided.